The Union government has ruled out the possibility of altering the boundaries of the Kurinji sanctuary.
In reply to a question by Mullappally Ramachandran in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister for Forest and Environment Harsh Vardhan said that it required the permission of the Forest and Wildlife Board.
No demand from State
Though the Kurinji sanctuary was announced in 2006, the final notification has not yet been issued. The Minister said that there were widespread encroachments on the area and it would not be possible to minimise the boundary of the sanctuary. So far, Kerala had not approached for limiting the area of the sanctuary, he said.
The controversy on the boundaries of the sanctuary started with media reports on encroachment of revenue land at Kottakambur by Joice George, MP, and his family by forging documents. The documents were cancelled by the Devikulam Sub-Collector on November 9. A few other encroachments also came to light at the Kottakambur and Vattavada villages where the Kurinji sanctuary was announced by the then Forest Minister Binoy Viswom at the Kurinji Fest on October 7, 2006, when there was massive flowering of Neelakurinji.
The sanctuary is home to elephants, gaur, Neelgiri tahr, and deer, besides several species of birds, snakes, and butterflies. The move to limit the boundaries is seen as a move to protect the encroachments.